Search results for: "Skillfulness"
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- Infinity… They went up and down depending on the skillfulness or lack of skillfulness in their actions. He also saw that the pattern of how this simple principle worked out was complex. Sometimes you would do something skillful in this lifetime and go to a bad destination next time around, either because of something bad you had done before, or because of some bad action …
- A Gift of Well-Being… If you learn how to tend to that state, your actions will be a lot more skillful and a lot more appropriate for the situation. It’s in this way that the meditation is a gift to yourself and to other people, just at the practice as a whole is a gift. This is clearest in generosity. You have something and you see that …
- Against the Stream… As with all kinds of karma, the question is, “When is it skillful, when is it not?” And the skillful question is: “What when I do it, will lead to long term welfare and happiness? What will lead to long term harm and suffering?” It’s the same with your thoughts: Which thoughts, when you engage with them, will lead to long-term welfare …
- Asalha Puja… But it’s a skill that can be mastered, especially when you appreciate the advantages that come from mastering the skill. That makes it easier to stick with it. So if you find the mind wandering off, remind yourself: If you don’t master this skill, there’s just a lot of suffering left over, waiting for you in the future. And there’s …
- Fabrication at the Breath… As some of those physical symptoms go away, it’s a lot easier to look at the situation and have more of a balanced view of what’s actually going on, and what would be a skillful thing to say, as opposed to what you just feel like saying. What would be the skillful thing to do? Is this the right time to act …
- Frame Your Questions Well… But when he was talking in later years about his quest, he said he was in search of what was skillful. In other words, he was looking for what could be done skillfully to put an end to suffering. He framed all his questions in terms of actions and the results. If he saw that he wasn’t getting the results he wanted, he …
- The Wheel of Dhamma… As long as you’re still on the path, you have to develop all the qualities the Buddha recommended, including desire—the desire to figure out which qualities in the mind are skillful and which ones are unskillful, and what can you do about them so that you can maximize the skillful ones and get rid of the unskillful ones and make sure the …
- Keep Things Simple… But the Buddha’s focus in the practice is on being skillful in doing - keeping mindful, keeping alert, being ardent in the practice, finding a sense of “just right.” When they talk about the Middle Way, the middle-ness lies in the amount of effort that’s just right for where you are right now, which sometimes may require a lot of effort, sometimes …
- Perception… So you can replace that perception with more skillful ones. Then you can look at the other perceptions and thought-fabrications that gather around the pain — the stories the mind tells itself about how long you’ve had this pain, or how much you’ve suffered in life, and “poor you”: all this suffering, all this pain. You begin to ask yourself, “Do you …
- Noble Priorities… If we’re not skillful, we take it out on others. There’s a frustration that comes when you’re looking for happiness and can’t find anything that’s really solid. I’ve seen cases even with monks whose practice hasn’t gotten all that far after many, many years, and they start saying, “Well, maybe there’s nothing there, there’s nothing …
- The Analytical Mind… He was looking for what was skillful but he didn’t have much guidance. So he had to look at his actions, to see what he was doing, and in particular what he was doing that was wrong. He then had to figure out how to do something that was right. That required that he analyze things. But notice, he was analyzing his actions …
- Hypocrisy… Delight in abandoning the unskillful qualities and in developing the skillful ones, wherever you may find them functioning, so that this becomes a habit in all areas of your life. That’s when you really are living by the customs of the noble ones—and the rewards aren’t small. They aren’t little tiny things. They’re enormous. But as Ajaan Lee once …
- What to Tolerate, What Not… That’s an important skill. It’s the skill that the Buddha teaches. As he says, there’s a difference between the stress that comes from the simple fact that things are inconstant, that they change, and the stress that comes from your craving. The first is the stress in the three characteristics. You’re not responsible for that. There’s nothing you can …
- Little Things… You want to be as precisely with the present moment as possible, so that skillful or unskillful states when they arise in the mind don’t pass by unnoticed. This is what it means to be uncomplacent in your practice of concentration. As we chanted just now, “One who sees danger and respects being heedful.” Well, the danger comes from little things, because little …
- Sensitivity All the Time… It’s just that you’re more skilled at being present, more skilled at being sensitive, ready to learn whatever lessons there are to learn. Michaelangelo at the age of 87 reportedly said that he was still learning how to sculpt. Well, that should be your attitude as you meditate. There are always things to learn. Even arahants have things to learn. They’ve …
- Part V : Finding a Teacher… So it’s important, as you’re engaging in an admirable friendship, that you try to pick up what’s really skillful. Once you learn to recognize it, you try to develop it within yourself. The first quality is conviction. Conviction means being convinced that the Buddha really was awakened. What does that mean in practice? It isn’t just a matter of being …
- Look after Your Mind with Ease… You want to do it in a way that’s skillful, that actually does bring the mind to a quieter state where you can put all that chatter aside. In the beginning stages, talking to the mind is necessary. Don’t think of it as an unfortunate obstacle as you’re trying to get the mind concentrated. It’s an essential part of the …
- Concentration & Renunciation… So the kind of help the Buddha gives us is to provide us with the skills we can use so that when pain comes, we’re not taken in by it. Of course, concentration on its own is not enough to deal with the pain. You also need some discernment: the discernment to see what kind of perceptions you’re applying to the pain …
- The Walls of Ignorance… Then, when they’re down and we can really see, we use equanimity to gauge for ourselves where we actually have been skillful and where we haven’t. That way we can learn from our mistakes. As the Buddha once said, “One of the signs of wisdom is in seeing your own foolishness.” At least that’s the beginning of your quest for knowledge …
- One Thing Clear Through… The path requires that you feed, but feed in a skillful way. You’re feeding off the goodness that comes reflecting back when you’re radiating goodness out. From there he goes on to the rewards of generosity and virtue, not only in this life but also, as he says, in heaven: lots of sensual pleasures, good things that come from good qualities of …
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